Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of memory storage, revealing a material called indium selenide that can transform from a crystalline to glassy phase using very low power. This transformation is crucial for devices like CDs and computer RAMs.
In contrast to traditional melt-quench processes, which require high temperatures and electrical pulses, the new method consumes only billionths of the power needed. The discovery was made by researchers from India’s Indian Institute of Science, the University of Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Glasses behave similarly to solids but lack a periodic arrangement of atoms. In traditional glassmaking, crystals are melted and then cooled quickly to prevent organization. However, this process is also used in CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs.
To overcome the power-hungry nature of these devices, researchers sought an alternative method that could convert crystal directly to glass without the intermediate liquid phase. The team found that when electric current was passed through wires made of indium selenide, long stretches of the material suddenly became glassy.
This process involves domain boundaries sliding against each other in different directions, causing mechanical shocks and triggering an avalanche effect. The research suggests that multiple unique properties of indium selenide – its 2D structure, ferroelectricity, and piezoelectricity – come together to enable this low-energy pathway for amorphisation.
The discovery could unlock a wider range of phase-change memory applications, transforming data storage in devices from cell phones to computers.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1063944